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West African Highlife Band

West African highlife

The Lowell Sun

Updated:
07/25/2013 12:45:10 PM EDT

The West African Highlife Band brings together an all-star group of music veterans for a unique celebration highlife, a genre that originated in Ghana in the early 20th century and then spread to other West African countries by 1920. It's characterized by multiple guitars, which lead the band, horns, and vocals.

The band is led by Nigerian master musician Babá Ken Okulolo, whose roots extend deep into his country's musical history and traditions. He was born into a family of traditional dancers and musicians in Nigeria's Delta Region, where he began playing bass, sitting in with groups coming through town. He toured regionally with the highlife band Harmony Searchers and, moving to Lagos, Nigeria's capital, embarked on a national and international career.

While on tour in the United States, he moved to San Francisco and in 1985, founded the supergroup KOTOJA and currently leads three distinct performing groups: West African Highlife Band, Nigerian Brothers, and Afro-Groove Connection. At the Lowell Folk Festival, West African Highlife will perform as a five-piece band: Babá Ken Okulolo (leader, bass guitar, lead vocal), Adesoji Odukogbe (lead guitar, vocal), Paul Ackah aka Pope Flyne (keyboard, vocal), Rasaki Aladokun, (congas, talking drum) abd Jerome Leonard, (trap drum set).

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